The Filly's Pleasure
by YamiMarik1994
Summary: Twilight wants her friends to be happy, no matter what; especially at her second sleepover! Can she use her knowledge of magic to cheer up a depressed Fluttershy? With an old book of magic, anything is possible. Twilight X Fluttershy Yuri.
1. Book In The Trunk

I'm guessing this is the first My Little Pony lemon fic out there, and I took the liberty of adding it to the archive myself! :3 I just love this show and was a little surprised to see there were none on here…

I was going to make this a one-shot, but figured the story would be better if I separated out into more than one chapter, so this will be at least a three/four-shot.

I hope you guys like this first chapter! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, or anything in the franchise, and never will I.**

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><p>"Extra pillows, check…smores, check…blankets, check…"<p>

Twilight went over each item set out on the table, checking them off one by one when she came to it on the list. Graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows for the smores along with six sticks for her and the girls were in their own separate stack, extra pillows and blankets in a pile next to the table. The Slumber 101 book lay open at the table's edge.

"Flashlights, check. Facial cream and cucumbers, check…" Twilight said to herself, checking them off with the red quill suspended by her magic. The purple unicorn was so excited; this was going to be her second slumber party, and even better than the last, considering how much fun she had with Applejack and Rarity; just two of her friends. She had a feeling deep down in her gut that with all her friends present, the level of fun would go off the scale! Twilight made circles around the table, looking over everything she collected; even though all the boxes were checked off she wanted to make certain that everything was in order for the sleepover. If Rarity and Applejack didn't get into another fight, then nothing could ruin this. "How're those invitations coming along Spike?"

"Almost done," her baby dragon assistant replied, his quill scratching the paper. "Just need to finish Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's invitations."

Twilight sighed softly at hearing Fluttershy's name. Though none of those disastrous events were really her fault, she still felt guilty about what happened at the Grand Galloping Galla. They could all sit and laugh about it like it was the funniest thing in Equestria, but Twilight wished things could have gone better. After all, Rarity discovered the love of her life was nothing but a pompous…well, jackass, to put it lightly; that alone can be a lot for a girl to handle. The ever so boisterous Pinkie Pie didn't have as much fun partying either, and considering how upset she was when they didn't come to her party, it was very surprising she didn't blow up from the lack of festivities that she was expecting.

But Fluttershy…Twilight had never seen her that upset! Raising her voice to a loud, earsplitting yell, her sweet gentle visage distorted into an angered, almost crazed expression. It was something you never really expected to see on a pony like Fluttershy. In a way, it actually saddened Twilight Sparkle to see one of her best friends so upset; because none of the animals would love her…

"Twilight? Everything alright?" the lavender dragon asked from the podium. The unicorn looked up at him and let a soft smile curl up over her snout. She nodded.

"I'm fine Spike. Just fine." She said in an assuring voice, not wanting him to worry about anything. "Spike, if it's not too much trouble, could you deliver the invitations for me?"

Spike set his quill down after signing the last invite. Each one was signed with Twilight's signature; Spike memorized it after practicing hundreds of times. It came in handy if Twilight couldn't write or sign something herself, but it also got the baby dragon in trouble a few times, with Rarity and a few others.

"Aw Twilight, do you know how long that will take me?" Spike protested without trying to complain, as hard as that sounded. "Everyone's houses are so far apart."

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Spike what am I going to do with you…" Twilight mumbled silently. "Then…could you use your breath to send them?"

Spike looked down at the letters, sorting through them and setting them in a stack on the podium. "I don't know. I've only been able to send them to Princess Celestia. I'm not sure if it will work…"

Twilight turned to him. "Well, go ahead and try. You won't know until you try."

Spike sighed and nodded, rolling up one of the scrolls and holding it up in front him. His claws held it in place. His eyes fixated on the rolled up parchment, Twilight could see a look in his eyes that told he was thinking. About what she wasn't sure, but she'd never seen Spike do that. He took his usual deep breath, puffing out his chest, and breathed a small plume of green fire. The scroll disintegrated in the fire, but the only thing that was completely different from the many times he sent messages this way was the green shifting into a tan hue before floating out the window to the receiver of the scroll.

"I…guess it worked." Spiked said, shrugging and looking at Twilight.

Having seen Spike do that a million times, she noticed it right off. "Whose invitation was that Spike?"

The baby dragon looked through the stack of paper. "Fluttershy's."

The smoke was tan, matching Fluttershy's coat to a T. Hopefully it would reach her with no problem. If Princess Celestia received the invite it would seem kind of awkward, but nonetheless easy to explain.

"How did you do that Spike?"

Spike rolled up the next scroll in his claws. "I just, well…pictured Fluttershy's house in my mind instead of Princess Celestia's palace. I'm not really sure how it worked, but it did."

Twilight giggles. "You're full of surprises aren't you? Thank you Spike. I think this sleepover could really cheer Fluttershy up."

Spiked nodded and smiled at her. "No problem Twilight." The scales in his cheeks flushed a bit red. He always felt a bit warm on the inside when Twilight would giggle like that. The purple unicorn was so sweet. He couldn't possibly imagine growing up with and living with someone else after knowing her for this long. Twilight checked over the equipment and he sent out the next letter to Pinkie Pie, as indicated by the fire turning a bright pink before drifting out the window. "Hm. I guess it really does work. Cool!"

Twilight jiggled one of the flashlights in her mouth, tapping it against her hoof. "Darn, I think this flashlight needs new batteries." She flipped the cap off to verify, dumping the contents onto the round table. One of the dark blue cylinders rolled onto the floor with a heavy and residual thump.

"I thought I increased the life of those batteries…" Twilight sighed, then smiled and laughed slightly. "Guess I need to do a little more reading." Twilight Sparkle recently bought a book on how to boost the life of magic-powered batteries; batteries that ran on magic didn't last very long due to the lack of consistent magic flow to keep them running; Twilight wanted to make them last for years. The blue coloring was a sort of side effect to the magic used on them, which also indicated the energy was depleted. She was skilled at magic but this book was only published very recently; new magic and spells had their flaws needed a lot of improvement before they could be fully reliable and used without issues.

"I think I saw some extra batteries in the basement." Spike spoke up. He sighed softly to himself as he sent off the next invite to none other than Rarity.

Twilight moved the batteries to the shelf for later use. She could practice that later when she didn't have a sleepover to plan. She had two extra flashlights but in case the Pegasus ponies happened to miss another scheduled rain and had to make up for it, she would be prepared in case another bad storm came and the power went out. Better safe than sorry.

"Alright, I'll be right back." Twilight headed to the basement door at the back of the tree-house and clopped down the stairs, after flipping the lights on so she could see of course.

Recently Twilight had set up extra book shelves in the basement that lined the circular walls, some space left open in between a few for decorations and a big, grey trunk. She was running out of room upstairs to keep her expanding supply of books. We all know Twilight loves book; collecting them, reading them, losing herself in the knowledge and wisdom. The minute she opened a book she could not stop reading until she learned and absorbed all it had to offer her.

Twilight's hooves clicked on the stone floor and she smiled to herself as she looked around her new, slightly finished library. Some of her older books were kept down here to protect them from the sunlight that could cause the wording to fade if she wasn't careful. Twilight would die if that happened to any of her precious books! Twilight took a deep, wanting to smell the air of the basement, and inhaled a bunch of dust that made her cough and choke. She blushed, happy no one was around to see that. At the center of the tall basement a table sat on a big rug, soft and almost plushy under her hooves. Books and other knick knacks like the usual parchment or quill were among the things resting on the wooden table, but alas, no batteries.

"Darn it." Twilight said hard, the flashlight floating beside her. "Where could they be?"

Other than that big trunk between two shelves there really wasn't any other place for them to be stored. So, she unlocked the trunk with the key attached to the lock by a little string and opened it; this was the only storage container that had a lock and key, so she thought it would be a bit fun to use it. Twilight rested her front hooves on the rim of the opening, looking in at the different thing in it. The trunk had been here since she moved in months ago, apparently left by the previous owner, but she never really found the time to go through exactly what was in it. She and Spike threw a few things in here every now and then, but it wouldn't really hurt to see was else was in there.

Twilight moved a few things around, taking some of the bigger stuff that could get in her way and setting them aside. Some of things in the box included party favors from Pinkie Pie's birthday party, a few folded up charts of the night sky which she set aside on the leftmost shelf carefully, not wanting to damage the research she spent many hours at night writing down, documenting every star single star she saw. Bottles of ink, extra quills still in the package…until she finally found exactly what she was looking for.

"Yes! There you are!" Twilight cheered happily, lifting them up and putting them in the flashlight. She tested it out, the light nice and bright now. Now that she had what she came down for she wanted to go back upstairs, but…her natural curiosity got the best of her and she stuck her head back into the trunk.

The contents got older as she dug further down. Once she and Spike's things were out of the way she didn't recognize anything in the chest. Sealed and slightly yellowed envelopes dated…a long time ago, empty vials with some cracks along the necks, frayed and broken quills no long usable…just old items, things she couldn't really find use for.

She was about to give up looking through it until she discovered it at the very bottom of the trunk and she almost had a heart attack; a cheerful heart attack. Sitting down there, taking up the left side of the bottom of the narrow but deep trunk was a book with deep blue binding.

"A book? How lucky am I!" Twilight said cheerfully, lifting it up and out to examine it. "Imagine how old this is!"

The pages were just as yellowed as the envelopes she found when looked at from the side, if not more so than the envelopes, so it had to be fairly old. Twilight looked for a date on the front and back cover, but no such thing was printed. Regardless, she smiled. She loved old books, they always had the most wisdom to give to an anxious reader like herself. She set it down carefully on the floor like a sacred, very fragile artifact, and examined it. The title was nice and clear with only slight lightening. 'Advanced Magic', it read.

Twilight felt her excitement burst drastically and she practically did a Pinkie Pie hop for joy. "Advanced magic? Oh this is so great!" Now, she was so glad she didn't go back upstairs when she did.

Even though the title had managed to avoid the threat of fading, the author's name didn't have as much luck. It was almost entirely gone! The only thing that even showed there used to be a name printed on the leather cover was the word "ooves" near the end of the right side. Not knowing where to start with all the excitement filling her young pony body she flipped to the first page and, to her surprise and dismay, the introduction was written in an ancient Equestrian language. She felt her hopes practically drop, finding this old book of magic and not being able to read it. Twilight flipped through the next few pages where the introduction continued, still in the same language. It wasn't until she reached the Table of Contents that it was actually written in the modern day Equestrian word. That brought a lot of stress off her. She looked down the long list of pages, one after the other. A lot of these she never heard of before. Curse Breaker, Philosopher's Stone, Carmine Gemmas Infinitum (whatever that meant), Cure Wakefulness, etc. The list went on, but the further she went down, the stranger they got. Hoof Paralysis, Spell of Detachment, Locust Call, Endless Drought… Twilight craned her head up, looking down curiously at the tome sitting at her hooves. She hadn't even taken one look at the inner pages and already the fact that this was an odd book was already obvious. But that didn't mean she wasn't still curious. This book has at least an extent of seven hundred pages, one spell printed on each page according to the Table of Contents; sometimes two depending on the complexity of the magic.

"Let's start…here." Twilight said to herself as she lifted a portion of the mass of pages up and turned it to a random section of the book, on a page titled 'Scorpio Extermination'; referring to a species of giant scorpion that lived deep in the desert. They were very rare yet very deadly arachnids; one sting, and unless you had an antidote right then and there, you could pretty much sign your death certificate. Scorpios were very hardy creatures and could hold up their own against large amounts of magic, so the fact that this had magic that could "exterminate" them amazed her.

"Scorpio Extermination, Horn Rejuvenation, Calm A Restless Dragon…" Twilight read off as she flipped through the pages. "This was in my basement the whole time?"

A lot of these "spells" didn't require reading off any magical key words or mixing a potion together like older charms had centered around, rather relaxing your body and mind, using deep, deep focus; somehow through enough concentration the book could aid you, as the only few words in modern Equestrian said (it took some hard finding, but she finally found a part that wasn't in ancient words), focusing your mind on the targeted person or thing, and the book's magic would transfer to you. The effects of the spell would then go through to the target. Twilight could guess after doing research on magic from the earlier eras that this might be around the time magic became more revolutionized.

Twilight ran her hoof over the title of one of the pages. The ink was a dark blue, almost purple or black. Possibly written using the juice of dakiri berries, which only grew in the deepest parts of the Everfree Forest. Maybe Zecora would know a bit about it. She was so deeply enticed by the contents of the book that she nearly ripped out a page when she heard Spike's voice yell out, telling her he was done.

"O-Okay Spike, I'm coming!" Twilight called back, carrying the book and flashlight up the stairs, reading through the book even as she closed the basement door behind her.

"All finished!" Spike said with a smile. The last letter drifted out the window, the flame a light blue color. "I think it worked. I'm pretty good aren't I?"

He waited for praising words from the purple unicorn, hoping he would hear her tell him how much of a great assistant he was, but they never came; her face was hidden behind the navy blue book.

"Twilight?" Spike knocked on the book like a door and still got no response. He pulled the book down from her face. "Twilight!"

Twilight jumped back, squeaking in surprise. "H-Huh?"

"You sure you're okay Twi?"

She took a deep breath and nodded, pulling the book from his paws and setting it on the table. "Sorry Spike. I just found this really old book in that trunk in the basement!"

Spike lifted up the front cover. "'Advanced Magic' by…um…ooves?"

"I think that's supposed to be 'hooves'" Twilight said. "This book is so strange, and amazing! It has so many spells and other magic I've never heard of!"

Spike flipped through the book, and by the look on his face he clearly didn't understand what he was reading; not that Twilight really had much more of a better idea. "You're pretty smart Twilight. You can understand all this?"

Twilight bit her bottom lip and started to look through the book again when Spike went back to the podium. "Well, o-only some of it…" Twilight looked back at him. "Spike, I was wondering…" she smiled at him delicately. "Would you mind…I don't know, um…leaving tonight?"

The dragon looked up at her from behind the podium. "Aw come on Twilight! Why can't I stay here?"

"I told you Spike, this sleepover is for girls only!" She knew the young male dragon just wanted to stay so he could get a peek at whatever Rarity would be doing, and even though it wasn't a complete secret that he was in love with her, he wasn't willing to share every single thought and feeling he had about and for the white unicorn.

Spike sighed and groaned. "Okay Twilight, you win. I'll just spend the night at Canterlot." Spike's night would mostly consist of an all-nighter at the donut shop, then spending the rest of it at Princess Celestia's palace.

Twilight smiled, happy Spike was a good sport about it. With him taken care of, now she could have a nice evening alone with her friends. However, Fluttershy was still a concern on her mind. Twilight was always concerned about her friends when they were unhappy, and she wanted to help them no matter what. She hoped Fluttershy might have gotten over it on her own, but in case she didn't, she wanted to find some way of helping her.

"_Oh Fluttershy, how can I help you my dear friend…_" Twilight thought to herself as she looked through the book. The sleepover might be able to cheer her up, but Fluttershy was known to be even more shy and nervous than she already was, so she might be a bit distant during the night. As Twilight flipped the pages, she realized…

Maybe the book could help! Twilight smiled to herself as she looked through the book, until she came across something that sounded like it could be able to help. Twilight sighed slightly. It might take an hour or two, maybe even more, to look for something that would cheer up the sweet quiet pony.

Olden magic had its advantages to modern day magic; Twilight hoped that included lifting the spirits of a targeted individual; she also hoped the invitation reached her. Twilight never underestimated Spike's abilities before, but he wasn't perfect. When you got down to it, who was ever perfect in any aspect?

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><p>I hope you liked this so far! It'll get better, I promise! I also hope to get to the lemon soon.<p>

Have anything you want to say? I would appreciate any and all support you can offer X3

R&R, and see you soon!


	2. Falling

Well, here's the next chapter, this time with Fluttershy in it! :3

I hope you guys enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, nor do I own the song "Falling" by Julee Cruise, the theme song to Twin Peaks! Please don't sue!

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><p>As you would expect, everything at the abode of the Pegasus pony Fluttershy was as peaceful as could be. The small woodland creatures she allowed to live around her house rested in their own little homes, the blue jays, green jays, red jays, and other colorful little birds chirping happily and melodiously into the soft late afternoon air. The animals went about their business as they always did in the peaceful boundary of Fluttershy's house. It was a protective haven for them; she protected them, gave them a home.<p>

Bunnies hopped around in the grass, squirrels darting up the trees and jumping from branch to branch and chowing down on acorns, turtles going at their own pace. Sluggish, but it was a pace they were comfortable with. Everything was just peaceful and harmonious here. That's what you would think just by looking on the _outside _of the house alone, without taking a peek at the inside.

Things weren't as nice as there outside. The silence that filled the house was deadening, only broken by the mechanical ticking of the clock above the fireplace, which held burnt and still-smoldering embers from the fire it contained the night before. She could still feel the heat coming from it, even though the room was a bit cold. Fluttershy was lying on her soft couch, her head resting on the sofa's arm.

Just by looking at the pony you could tell something was wrong; it didn't take a genius to figure it out, unless you didn't know her well enough or didn't even know her at all. Either way, she wasn't feeling very good. Not that she was sick, not physically anyway, but she was feeling rather ill in a different way.

The pink haired pony sighed, not making any other noise or saying a word. It had been like that for the past half hour or so, lying on her belly, her hind legs stretched out behind her. Twilight didn't know it but her suspicions about her condition were one hundred percent correct; she was very, very sad.

"The Gala was horrible…" Fluttershy said to seemingly no one but it was really to the little group of animals in the house with her, standing there like statues. They knew when Fluttershy wasn't well, and it affected them in a way too. The birds, squirrels, rabbits and mice; they all stared at her, each concerned for the pony.

"One of the worst days of my life…" Her voice was its usual soft tone, but one could hear the sorrow flowing through her words, the sadness, and the depression. And like Twilight she wished the whole event had gone better than it did. Princess Celestia said it was the best Gala she ever held since they first became tradition. Deep, deep inside within her heart, Fluttershy just didn't feel the same enthusiasm the fair princess did.

"I don't understand why they didn't love me…" Fluttershy closed her eyes and sighed very heavily, stretching her hooves over the edge of the arm. The AC was going, the constant sound of the air blowing from the vents filling her ears, blowing across the cute, gentle features of her young face. The coolness of the house combined with the silence made a very relaxing environment anypony would love, but she couldn't get herself relaxed, not even enough to put herself to sleep.

Since she was a filly all she wanted to was help and show her love to the cute little creatures of Equestria, and in a natural way they loved her right back. She felt so loved when she was around her animals, even Angel, even if he could be a little bit of a jerk every now and then. They were her family and they were there for her when she wasn't with her dearest friends. With her parents on the other side of Equestria, they were all she had.

"Am I…just too attached to my friends?" Fluttershy said to herself. Her eyes locked on no particular spot on the lightly-colored floorboards "I just…I just wanted them to…love me. At least…like me…"

She wasn't a selfish pony for wanting the affection of Princess Celestia's animals, was she? Every time she thought back to herself in the royal garden, dressed in that beautiful dress Rarity made months earlier which she loved so much…laughing like a madpony and scheming to capture the animals every way she could from nets to boxes to just flat-out chasing them. And now, she felt guilty for it; very, very guilty.

"Why didn't they love me…" Fluttershy droned out sadly, rolling over to face the living room. She closed her eyes and moisture gathered in the corners until they reached the ends of her eyelashes. She sniffled as a few strands of hair fell down in front of her eyes, wiping the tears away, but she didn't bother with moving them back into position. It was like the way she wore her hair when she was younger, concealing her right eye. It wasn't until a few minutes later that she put her hooves over her eyes, and she couldn't stop herself from chocking out a soft sob, the gathering moisture growing to a soft flow of tears.

It wasn't often Fluttershy would cry, but when she did, it meant she was truly hurt. Fluttershy was really the sweetest and most gentle person you would meet for miles in Equestria; seeing her cry was like looking at dead kittens; it made you want to cry, no matter how much you didn't want to. Little whimpers broke the silence of the room and the animals were surprised to hear these sounds from her, now more silent than they already were.

Fluttershy looked at her hooves, the wetness on them shimmering in the soft light. She closed her eyes and tried to stop, but the emotions were just flowing out of her like water from a faucet. This was actually hitting her harder than she thought it was. She pressed her hooves back on her leaking eyes, almost sputtering from trying to keep in her next sniveling moan. Her hind legs came forward, trying to press against her chest into a ball, a fetal position. Not that she wanted to disappear or anything, but she just wanted so kind of comfort when she cried; Fluttershy felt most vulnerable like this. She cried harder. It had to come out one way another, and she emptied out her sorrow by crying.

The woodland animals could only watch her. A few of them got closer to her, especially the mouse she took care of months earlier; his leg was fully healed and he was out of his wheelchair. His mate was cradling their child in her arms, the little white mouse having looked like he hadn't had sleep in a very long time.

For the next few minutes Fluttershy cried and cried, until she just ran out of tears. Her hooves soaked and cheeks soaked, including the strands of pink hair over her eyes. She was done but she still sniffled and quivered slightly, the whites of her eyes a soft pink around her beautiful cyan irises. All those little eyes were on her; the eyes of the little woodland creatures. She smiled at them and sighed, a soft, shaky sigh.

"Y-You…don't t-think I'm selfish and m-m-mean….do you?" she asked them. Part of her really wanted a verbal response from them, assuring her she was the exact opposite of that, or something that could possibly cheer her up out of her depression. A squirrel and a mouse came closer to her, the mouse shaking its little head. She knew that was his response and she smiled a bit, but she still felt upset.

Fluttershy closed her eyes to take a nap, feeling herself about to cry again, when a loud poof sound spooked her and she squeaked in pure surprise, sitting up straight on the couch. A tan fire burned in mid air before her eyes, spinning and twisting, sparking and cracking before the flame dissipated and a scroll materialized in its place, glittering with magic even though she wasn't using or didn't have any. Fluttershy never got a message like this before, so not only was she a little frightened but she was confused. The scroll floated down in her lap, the somewhat browned paper a little warm against her short coat.

"Well…w-what's this?" Fluttershy asked out loud, drying off her hooves before unrolling the scroll.

'_Dear Fluttershy,_

_I'm having a slumber party tonight, and I would just love it if you came! All the girls will be there. We're going to have so much fun! You'll love it Fluttershy! Party starts at six, I hope you come!_

_ Signed, Twilight Sparkle _'

Fluttershy smiled at this letter, but blushed heavily at the little heart signed after her name. She put her hoof over her snout, her face burning up red hot. While Twilight's little sign of affection was very sweet, Fluttershy couldn't help but be a little embarrassed. Did she know? Fluttershy swallowed and shook her head.

"Oh my…" she said softly, sniffing and giggling. "Oh Twilight, that's so sweet." Fluttershy looked over the short but sweet letter again. Twilight, holding a slumber party? And she was invited? Well of course, they were really good friends, it would be absolutely rude not to invite her, and Twilight would never do such a thing! Fluttershy never went to a slumber party in her life! Angel jumped up on the couch, a small juicy carrot in his little white paws.

"Look at this Angel!" Fluttershy said happily, showing the letter to the white rabbit. "Twilight invited me to a sleepover! Oh, I don't know, do you think I should go?"

Angel looked at her, then the letter. The heart in particular caught his attention. He nodded, taking a bite of his carrot.

"But I've never gone to a sleepover before…" Fluttershy said nervously, still holding the letter and reading it again. "I'm so nervous, what if I ruin something? You really think I should go Angel?"

The rabbit rolled his big black eyes and nodded again, biting a big chunk of the carrot of, his cheeks bulging as he ate. Fluttershy sighed and set the letter down, wiping her eyes. "Oh, I really should go, I would disappoint my friends if I didn't!" she looked down and closed her eyes. "But I don't want to ruin it…"

Fluttershy loved her friends so much; they were like sisters rather than friends. Especially Twilight, who was her true first friend out here in Ponyville; the others, well she knew them, but she just never really found the time to talk to them. She was just too shy. It really matched her name, Fluttershy. Twilight was able to connect with everyone out here, and Ponyville was no longer just some obscure little town out in Equestria, like all the other towns you would find. Twilight brought them all together as friends, and Fluttershy felt like she owed the purple unicorn something for it, but she wasn't sure what.

"No…I'll end up ruining it!" Fluttershy cried out, putting her hooves over her eyes, trying not to cry again. "What is it Angel? What is it about me that they didn't like?"

Angel sighed and shook his little head. He thought she had gotten over that by now, but apparently he was wrong. He just took another bite and sat back on the couch. Fluttershy tried to be strong, because she not only did she really want to go to the slumber party, but she didn't want the others' time to be ruined. She took a deep breath, and tried to calm herself down again. In the midst of her battle against her crying, she heard a soft squeak. The pony looked down at the floor, and at the base of the couch stood the mother mouse and her child in her paws.

"O-Oh…h-hello Mrs. Mousy…" she said sweetly, smiling at the rodent. "Do you need something?"

The mouse looked at her sadly and nodded, holding the young mouse up to her. Fluttershy looked down at him and carefully lifted him up to the couch with her. The young rodent was breathing softly, wiggling around in her hooves. Puffiness was building around his little eyes, a soft red like she had but his wasn't from crying. Fluttershy looked down at him sadly and cradled the smaller creature in her forelegs.

"Awwww, you poor thing!" Fluttershy said sweetly, pulling the mouse closer to her. "You look like you haven't slept in days!" The mother nodded in affirmation but the pony didn't see this. "Has it been a long time since he slept?"

The mother smiled slightly and sighed softly, nodding her head. Fluttershy looked back down at him and held him closer, gently nuzzling his little body. "I'm so sorry little mousy…" she said softly and comfortingly, her breathing nice and soft so she wouldn't disturb him.

Fluttershy looked over him, lifting his head up and feeling his neck. "Have you tried everything?"

The mother mouse nodded and sighed sadly, hoping she could do something. Fluttershy thought over the possible things she could do. "Have you tried warm milk?"

She nodded.

"Rocking him to sleep?"

She nodded again.

"Wrapping him up in blankets? Stroking his fur? Warm milk?"

Each thing she asked her got a nod from the grey mouse. Fluttershy looked down at the mouse, trying to think over what else could put an insomniac to sleep (she guessed he had insomnia, she never treated one of her animals for something like this). She sighed and thought for a few minutes, before she got it.

"Did you try singing to him?"

The mouse looked at her, then shook her head. Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, well, let's try that."

Fluttershy leaned back against the couch, relaxing herself. The others were watching; they never heard Fluttershy sing before, so this was a very new event. The tan pony saw them looking at her and she blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed about doing this; she never sang in front of them. So she took a deep breath and relaxed more.

"My mother used to sing this song to me when I was still a foal." Fluttershy said softly, remembering back to the nights when she couldn't sleep, and her mother could always get her to sleep within minutes by singing this song; it always relaxed her, and even thinking about helped to calm her down.

Fluttershy cleared her throat and sighed, holding the rabbit close. "Don't let yourself be hurt this time…" Fluttershy began to sing softly, her voice just above a whisper and slowly going up in volume, but not very much at all. "Don't let yourself be hurt this time…"

The entire room was silent; the animals all sat and stood in place, not making a single word or noise. Fluttershy looked at them and took another deep breath, feeling a bit more confident but all the more nervous about singing. But she had to do it, for the little rabbit that needed to get some sleep.

"Then I saaaaaaw your face…" she crooned in such a soft, lovely tone that seemed so otherworldly, nothing ever heard before. "Then I saaaaaaw your smile…"

Her mother told her there was a hidden meaning behind these words but it was such a long time ago that she had forgotten. She was certain though that it had to have something to do with finding the one you love, the one you were destined to be with. She continued to sing.

"The sky is still blue…the clouds come and go…" Fluttershy looked down at the little mouse, watching his long pink tail sway across her foreleg lazily, his eyes starting to droop a little. "Yet something is different… Are we falling in love?"

The air conditioning blew over her face. She closed her eyes and sat back on the couch, relaxing herself for a minute like she was taking a dramatic pause between the words. It wasn't her intention, but it did add effect to her singing.

"Don't let yourself be hurt this time…" Fluttershy continued, smiling softly as her own singing made her feel a bit better; just a little bit, but it didn't cheer her up all the way. "Don't let yourself be hurt this time…"

Fluttershy's tail started to flick against her leg and the arm of the couch. She could feel the mouse relaxing in her forelegs, like he was her own child; she liked to think of the younger ones as her children when it came to these things. She sighed softly and nuzzled his soft little belly, breathing in the soft smell of his fur.

"Then your kiss…so soft…" For a minute she wasn't sure; she couldn't tell what brought it up, but the utterance of those five words brought Twilight to her mind. Fluttershy blushed heavily, almost squeaking when she spoke up to continue, then stopped for a second. Sure her friends were like sisters to her, but was it possible that sisters could become more than just sisters?

"_Oh no, why am I feeling this way? No no no, Twilight is my friend! I…I-I shouldn't feel that way…_" Fluttershy thought, tears suddenly coming back to her eyes. Oh gods, why were those depressing thoughts of the garden coming back to her like that? She didn't want them to come back. She wanted to forget about it all, but why couldn't she? As the best of her abilities would allow she pushed the thoughts away.

"Then your touch…so warm…" Fluttershy kept her eyes closed, her cradled arms rocking the mouse child slowly in time with her words and making a steady rhythm which the other animals were starting to feel the effects; some of them were already asleep.

"The stars still shine bright, the mountains still right…Yet something is different. Are we falling in love?"

The little mouse's eyes fell, his eyelids getting very heavy. Fluttershy smiled and gave him a soft kiss on her forehead, followed by a little nuzzle. She tucked her forelegs together, building a nice and warm cradle for the mouse. His eyes opened and closed, open and closed, repeating several times before they fell close, and his breathing slowed. Fluttershy took a slow, deep breath.

"Falling….Falling….Are we falling in love?" She finished her song out with a soft voice that trailed off, and soon the room was filled with silence only broken by the air conditioning.

"There we go…" she whispered, handing him over to his mother who looked like she was about to fall asleep. "Now just make sure he doesn't wake up, and he'll be fine."

The mother nodded and looked up at her with a look that said "Thank you so much", and went back to her hole, having to nudge her mate awake and bring him with her. Fluttershy closed her eyes and looked down, at her lap, grabbing the letter and looking it over again.

_Signed, Twilight Sparkle _

"Twilight…" Fluttershy touched the still-warm paper and sighed heavily, closing her eyes. She could feel the tears start to build, one single drop of moisture going down her eyelash, hanging on the edge for a few seconds before dripping onto the paper, the tear sizzling out on contact. "Yes…I should go…I will go…

"I…I love you Twilight…"

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><p>I'm having a good time writing this, and I hope you guys like it!<p>

R&R!


	3. Bad Influence

Yeah, sorry I hadn't updated sooner. I was busy with other projects and I just wasn't sure how to start this right. My friend Designer Heart told me to start it with the other girls, so I decided to go that route ^^

I hope you enjoy this update!

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><p>Fluttershy got her invite just fine, but you may be wondering about the other girls and their invites. You won't need to worry yourself; they would receive them without any issues, just like our quiet little pony friend. Now we'll focus on Applejack for the time being.<p>

It was a typical day for the farm girl on Sweet Apple Acres. The remaining trees that didn't get harvested during the most recent Applebuck Season needed to be…well, harvested. The day was going by generally slow. Not much was going on. Granny Smith was cooking them up a rather nice dinner and a wonderful apple pie for dessert, so the family had something good to look forward to after a hard day's work.

As with most days in the Ponyville area the sky was clear and deep blue, the birds chirping all around the trees on the farm. All in all it was a warm afternoon, a bit humid but otherwise it was the kind of day you could spend hours outside; inside there was nothing to do but look out the window at all the activities you could be doing right now. The only difference was the house had air-conditioning; a hard day's work usually ended with taking a nice long bath in the end.

At the edge of the orchard the two girls of Ponyville's Apple family stood in front of a tree that needed to be bucked. Tan wicker baskets surrounded the tree, positioned so it would catch each apple.

"Come on little sis, I know you can do it!" Applejack spoke in a supportive voice to her kid sister. "Just try a little bit harder."

Apple Bloom looked back and up at the tree. The apples were scattered around the dark green canopy like stars in the sky. Being part of the Apple family meant it was her calling to work on Sweet Apple Acres like Applejack and Big Macintosh. But this was harder than it looked! Try and try again she couldn't get it down, like she just didn't have the right skills to perform this job the way she watched her whole family do it.

"How do you do it big sis?" The young filly spoke in a soft, sad voice, looking up at the orange pony. "I can't do it right!"

Applejack sighed and patted the top of her head, ruffling up her rose mane playfully. Apple Bloom closed her eyes and blushed. Like most sisters it was embarrassing that Applejack did this; she still liked it, she adored her big sister. She just wished she didn't do it around her friends; Scootaloo never hesitated to tease her about it, never let her forget it.

"Don't worry Apple Bloom, applebucking ain't easy at first," Applejack said. "But with a little practice you'll be joining us in no time! Now here, let me show you."

Apple Bloom stood aside and sat down next to a tree with its apples already harvested in tan and brown wicker baskets; the farm had hundreds upon thousands of baskets and it was a pain to put them all back up in the second level of the barn. Macintosh and Applejack took turns each season; it was a good way for both of them to get plenty of exercise.

Applejack took the basic bucking position, facing away from the tree with just enough room for her legs to hit the trunk without breaking her legs from being too close or too far that would leave her flat on her stomach.

"It's all in the legs sugar-cube, all in the legs." Applejack lifted her rear up and flexed the muscles in her hind legs. "All ya need to do is put all that power in your legs, and once you're ready just give it a hardy kick!"

With a 'hup' Applejack kicked her legs and bucked the tree, rattling the wood with just enough force to dislodge the red yellow and green fruits from the branches and letting them cascade with dull _thuds_ in the baskets.

Apple Bloom was simply in awe at the skills her sister possessed. She was jealous but not in the scornful way; she wanted to have Applejack's skills, desired them with a strong passion. Some nights she made a wish to the first star she spotted at night that she would have them. The fact that she made the wish hundreds of times, and it still had not come true told her those old wish on a star legends were just that – legends, superstitions.

If you didn't guess by now, Apple Bloom was trying to get her cutie mark; one out of many attempts to get it before Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. If the latter pony found out that she got her cutie mark before them she would be sooooo jealous. Little fillies like Apple Bloom have a fascination with being the top of their friends, and in spite of her less than luxurious life as a farm girl Apple Bloom was no exception.

"There ya go!" Applejack said with a nod. She came up beside her sister and rubbed the top of her head again. "Now just give it another try. I'm sure ya'll can do it!"

If the last few attempts were utter failures, how could she be certain this time wouldn't end with the same result? When it came to the subject of her cutie mark, everything seemed to work out against her; nothing went right, there was always something that would get in her way and block her path, making it virtually impossible to get to her destination that was her cutie mark. Even if the odds were against her she had to try even if it ended up killing her in the end; she wouldn't need a cutie mark if she was dead though, but she was willing to go that far.

Apple Bloom could only sigh at this point. The little pale olive filly timidly strode up to the tree, towering over her like a giant in the old fairytales that Big Macintosh read to her from that old story book when she was a foal. This was just as intimidating, if not more with it right in front of her instead of a lingering thought in her imagination.

A nervous swallow and she turned her rear to the tree. Her smaller size meant she had to get closer so using Applejack's distance as a guide was out of the question, like the previous times before. Apple Bloom looked up at the sky, praying this would work this time.

"_Come on Apple Bloom, you can do it._" Apple Bloom told herself in her head. "_You can do it!_"

Apple Bloom bit down on her tongue and held her eyes closed. With a soft and cute grunt she bucked her smaller hind legs and smacked the tree with a hollow thud. The tree didn't make any type of movement. Apple Bloom's legs stuck in position, extended back against the trunk. She opened her eyes and saw the ground come up and landed flat on her face, her rear end in the air. Just like the times before that.

Applejack slowly went up to the filly and helped her up. "It's okay sis, we can't all be experts the first time around."

She was right, but it didn't make Apple Bloom feel any better. "I can't do it sis." Apple Bloom pouted, sitting down hard and gazing at the ground with sadness. "I can't do it! I'm not strong enough!"

"Now come on…" Applejack sat down next to her and rubbed her back. She didn't like to see her sister upset. Getting a cutie mark was a big deal but she didn't want her to stress out over the whole ordeal; once you're ready, the mark will come to you. "Apple Bloom, I didn't get my mark until I knew where my true place was, here on the farm. Maybe ya just haven't found it yet."

The filly shrugged and sighed, not looking up from the dirt. "I don't know…maybe not…"

Her sister kissed the top of her little head and rubbed her right foreleg. "Why don't ya go see if Big Mac needs some help? I'll take over from here."

Apple Bloom nodded and got to her hooves and galloped off to the fields where Macintosh would be plowing the field. Applejack felt guilty that her brother was still using that rusty old plow that barely worked when you needed it to. If only she made enough sales with her apples at the Gala. She should have known better than to sell "common food" to the ponies of Canterlot, who were only used to eating the highest quality gastronomy available. At first it made her very upset that those arrogant jackasses shot down her food like that. Ponies nowadays had no respect, only concerned about their own interest; she honestly didn't expect it, but what she really didn't expect was how that one night could affect them so much. Some took it better than others; Rarity certainly was still upset over the whole situation with Prince Blueblood. Twilight and Pinkie Pie were taking it the best; the latter pony didn't seem to be bothered by the incident, like the Gala wasn't as big of a disaster it was.

Rainbow Dash seemed to doubt her dreams of joining the Wonderbolts one day; they were too busy socializing to pay any attention to her. Anypony could understand the pain one feels when you finally meet somepony you've idolized your whole life, and just when you think the best day of your life came riding in on a golden chariot pulled by snow-white Pegasi, they end up turning out to not be what you expected. Maybe they were just too distracted and not because they weren't interested in her at all. Rainbow Dash might get another chance to meet and talk with her childhood idols.

Fluttershy on the other hand, Applejack felt so bad for her. She was the nicest pony you would ever want to meet, but that night didn't bring out the best in her, but something that wasn't Fluttershy; something that almost seemed otherworldly. Seeing Fluttershy angered so, an anger enflamed by the animals avoiding her when she just wanted them to love her. The animals in Princess Celestia's garden weren't used to somepony like Fluttershy, but the tan pony just wasn't expecting that would happen. It frightened Applejack when Fluttershy came in the main hall, chasing down all the animals and shrieking for them to love her. Applejack thought she would explode or turn on everypony there, so when she calmed down it brought relief to her friends that she was doing better.

That's what they (or at least Applejack) assumed.

No one had seen her in Ponyville for the past few days. Rainbow Dash informed them she saw her outside her abode tending to her animals, but she went back inside before she could even say one word to her. Since then Fluttershy did not step outside her house. Not even the animated Pinkie Pie could get her to come out. Applejack was concerned about the health of her dear friend. It was very clear Fluttershy hadn't gotten over the incident at the Gala.

The orange mare knocked the apples from the next tree, looking back at her handiwork; the apples landed nicely in the baskets like somepony personally and carefully arranged them. Applejack whistled a tune as she clopped to the tree directly across from her. As it was just a usual day on the farm she wasn't expecting anything to happen. The sun burning overhead, beating down on the farm, she looked up at the blank blue sky when something caught her eye. Applejack stopped and looked at it. At first she thought it was a small flock of birds, but the swirling of the dark silhouettes shot that down. Applejack squinted her gorgeous green eyes to get a better look, but that wouldn't be necessary. They came down towards her spot, surrounded by a…an orange flame that matched her coat perfectly. She saw this too many times to not know it was one of Spike's letters after he sent it out. What did Twilight want to tell her today?

The flame stopped in front of her, swirling around before the burnt particles formed into a rolled up scroll tied neatly shut with a red ribbon, the kind Princess Celestia used when she sent letters to Twilight. Landing in her hooves, Applejack looked down at the warmed parchment before untying the sparkly-laced ribbon. With the constricting material gone the letter unrolled and fluttered down to the dirt.

"Dear Applejack. I'm having a slumber party tonight, and I would just love it if you came! All the girls will be there. We're going to have so much fun just like last time, but better! We're going to have so much fun! Party starts at six, I hope you come! Signed, Twilight Sparkle" Applejack read aloud, her neck craned down to read better. Twilight was having another slumber party? After they, along with Rarity, had so much fun with that first unplanned sleepover, how could you blame Twilight for having another? A smile came over Applejack's snout and she tipped her hat back.

"Why that's mighty kind of you Twilight," Applejack said like Twilight was right here in front of her. "I'd love to come tonight."

"Sis sis sis!" Apple Bloom's voice came faintly from the distance. The little filly was running her way, with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle following behind. Scootaloo manned the scooter with the red wagon attached to the hook in the back. She flapped her little wings to propel herself forward, easily going past Apple Bloom and leaving her in the dust; they reached Applejack before she did.

"H-Hey…let me…catch up first!" Apple Bloom panted, trying to catch her breath when she caught up to them. "Don't go so fast Scoot!"

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and shook her helmet-clad head. "Just run faster Apple Bloom! I told you to hop in the wagon!"

Apple Bloom ignored her. She didn't want to hear Scootaloo's sarcasm today; she needed a break from it every now and then.

"Applejack, Scootaloo wants me to come over to her house for a sleepover tonight. Can I?" Apple Bloom put on her cutest face for her sister, hoping it would improve her chances.

Isn't that funny, both of them would be doing the same thing tonight. That set up Apple Bloom for the night, and Granny Smith and Macintosh would be occupied with their own affairs for tonight.

"Absolutely sis." Applejack permitted with a nod of her head. "Ya'll know you can go to your friend's without ma permission."

Apple Bloom jumped up and down a few times with pure excitement. "Yay! Thank you sis!"

"But," Applejack pointed out. "You can go after dinner. Granny Smith's makin' us dinner."

The red-bowed pony pouted, but nodded. "Okay sis. But can I at least go play with my friends for a while?" When she got a nod from Applejack she jumped up again and did a full 180 degree turn to her friends.

"The same as last time girls?" Apple Bloom said to the orange-amber pony, referring to the last time they had a sleep over at Scootaloo's house. Her parents got a television which were just developed in Manehatten, with its advancements in technology not seen elsewhere in Equestria, not even Canterlot itself. Motion picture was also a relatively new thing that everypony in Ponyville heard of, but no one had access to. Apple Bloom thought the television was the coolest thing she ever saw with all the brilliant colors and clear picture, better than a camera! She asked Applejack if they could get one, but she wasn't at all crazy about the idea. They were farmers and farming was their life, not some technical junk that could throw off their work schedule, according to Applejack. Of course that statement was one hundred percent true: a T.V. did not belong on a farm, and that only brought more teasing from Scootaloo, who said the Apple family was still living in the Dark Ages.

"Ohhhhh yeah…." Scootaloo said with a smirk and a nod. "Pizza and a movie!"

"Yes!" Apple Bloom pumped her hoof, catching her helmet when Sweetie Belle threw it to her. She put it over her head and hooked the strap together.

"Can we watch something else, please?" Rarity's younger sister asked desperately, holding Scootaloo's shoulders. "I don't want to watch that movie again…"

Scootaloo looked back at her and scoffed slightly. "Come on Sweetie Belle, 'Alone in the Dark'* is not that bad. Now climb in Apple Bloom, let's go find Rainbow Dash."

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on just a darn minute!" Applejack announced, stopping Scootaloo's scooter by holding on to the back of the wagon. Scootaloo winced, wishing she had not just blurted that out like that. "What did you just say ya'll were gonna watch?"

Scootaloo looked back at her friend's sister, putting on the most innocent look she could muster up even though she knew trying to sweet talk her way was impossible; for someone like Scootaloo it was. "Alone in the Dark…"

Applejack frowned and pulled the wagon back. Scootaloo went "whoa!" as she was pulled with it, almost falling right off the scooter. "Come on Applejack, what's the big deal?"

"First off ya'll are too young to watch somethin' like that." Applejack said firmly to the young Pegasus pony.

"I-I don't watch it…" Sweetie Belle said timidly. "I'm too scared…"

Applejack smiled at her and patted the top of her head. At least Sweetie Bell had the appropriate reaction. "Sis, I don't want you watching that movie again."

"Aww come on sis!" Apple Bloom pouted unhappily. "Why can't I?"

Applejack tapped her hoof against the ground and pursed on side of her lips. "Really? I don't think you forgot what happened last time you saw that movie. You ended up coming home early so scared your coat was white!"

This wasn't the first time Apple Bloom was invited to a sleepover. She did go over to Scootaloo's house a few weeks ago, and they watched the same exact movie. Little Apple Bloom ended up coming home early crying with fear and had to sleep with Applejack. She had nightmares for a week after that. Because the movie was Scootaloo's idea she was on thin ice with Applejack, and it was her duty as an older sister to keep her safe from those types of bad influences.

"Miss Applejack, can't you let it slide just once?" Scootaloo said with the same innocent look and voice. "Just this once?"

Applejack frowned and shook her head. "Nope. I don't want you watching it either Scootaloo." This got a loud and very displeased 'Awww' from the two girls. "Apple Bloom, look at me. I want you to promise me something."

The olive filly didn't look at her, but at the ground instead.

"Apple Bloom, look at me!" she said again. Apple Bloom closed her eyes and finally gave up, looking up in her eyes. Applejack smiled at her and lifted up her chin with her hoof. "Promise me you won't watch that movie. I don't want you watching it, okay sugar-cube?"

The filly looked away, before sighing and nodding. "Okay big sis…I promise."

"Good girl." Applejack said. "Now go have fun. But come back before dinner."

Apple Bloom hopped in the wagon and Scootaloo sped off, riding off towards Ponyville. Those girls, especially Scootaloo, wanted to grow up a little too fast. Applejack sat down and pulled her hat off, fanning herself with it and reading over the letter again. Twilight couldn't be holding this sleepover just for fun. After the Gala, no. This had to be an attempt to cheer everyone up; especially dear Fluttershy.

"Boy Twilight, you sure are a nice pony."

"Eeeyup."

Applejack jumped and eeped in surprise, the red draft horse standing behind her.

"Macintosh don't do that!" Applejack scowled, swatting his side with her hat. "Ya nearly scared me right outta ma hide."

"Hehe forgot you were so jumpy." Macintosh teased, chewing on his wheat sprig.

"Wha…I am not!" Applejack's orange face flushed red. "Don't you forget that you big oaf!"

Big Macintosh patted her back with his tan hoof. "So Twilight invited ya to a sleepover?"

Applejack smiled and nodded, looking down at the tanish scroll. "Yep. I'mma goin' tonight after dinner. All the girls will be there this time around."

Macintosh nodded, taking in the information. "Sleepovers…they lots of fun?"

"When it was just me, Rarity, and Twilight, we had lots of fun." Applejack smiled at him and put her hat back on. "Tonight's going to be even better. I hope…" She sighed, opening her mouth to mention Fluttershy's ordeal, when something warm and wet touched her neck. Big Macintosh's snout was pressed on her neck in a soft nuzzle. "H-Hey…stop that…"

"Hm? I'm just bein' friendly sis…" Macintosh said with a snort, closing his eyes and nuzzling the side of her face. Applejack closed her own eyes and breathed softly, dropping the parchment and planting her hooves firmly on the ground. She was glad the young ones weren't around to see it. "Just bein' friendly is all…"

"C-Come on big brother…" Applejack said with a soft groan as he licked the side of her face, a shivering going up and down her spine. She hated it when Macintosh got like this, but at the same time she thought it was so nice. After what happened the last Applebuck Season, things weren't the same between them. "N-Not now…"

Macintosh nuzzled her right below her ear, eliciting a soft noise from his sister. "Just showing you I love ya sis…" he said to her, nuzzling her again. Applejack couldn't help but sigh and whinny, closing her eyes and smiling. That felt so nice. He could be a big dumb oaf, but he could be a sweetheart if he wanted to.

"Macintosh, I don't want…Apple Bloom watching that darn movie…" she said, gritting her teeth and shaking her head. "I'm afraid Scootaloo is a bad influence…"

"I think she learned her lesson last time," he said, recalling the week of nightmares she had the last time. "And ya made her promise. She won't go against it."

Applejack looked down at the letter. She certainly hoped not. Applejack loved her little sister to death, but she didn't really want to leave Twilight's party early to take her home. Not if it meant helping poor Fluttershy's state improve.

Alone in the Dark. Bah, just more technological trash invading the peaceful society built on this side of Equestria.

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><p>*Not a direct reference to the 2005 movie directed by Uwe Boll.<p>

I was planning on adding Twilight to this chapter, but I decided doing so would decrease the possible amount of chapters. So I'm saving it for the next one ^^

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this, and I'm looking forward to your supportive reviews!


	4. Scattered Glass

Sorry for the moderately long wait, I wanted this chapter to be just right so the events would flow perfectly from chapter to chapter. Now, let's focus a bit on Rarity and Rainbow Dash!

Enjoy!

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><p>Blood and sweat; the outcomes of hard work, the inevitable results of one putting their heart and soul into a project until it was finished, and a pony could truly admire their work. For not only was it the finished product that mattered, but the time and effort put into that product. A pony could look back on how much work they put in, and that's what made it all worthwhile.<p>

That's how Rarity was with her dresses. Blood and sweat; but more sweat than blood. Really no blood at all. The white unicorn was so skilled a dress maker she could go a whole day without sustaining any type of injury, be it needle prick, a mishap with the sewing machine; anything along those lines.

The textile studio of her store was set at a nice cool temperature not only to keep her awake but to dry the beads of sweat going down her milky-white forehead that could potentially stain and ruin the delicate fabric of her dress. So when she felt any kind of moisture drip down her forehead, she quickly swiped it away with her hoof before returning to her work; years of dressmaking allowed practice for her reflexes. They were fast enough to rival those of a cat, like her little white kitty cat Opalescence.

A stare of deep concentration fixated on her face, Rarity held the little red ball of soft fabric surrounding a cotton core between her teeth, the side in her mouth already moist with saliva. In the end facing away from the dressmaker was stuck every centimeter with needles of every size, thickness, and length. Rarity was manning a sewing machine so normally you would think she wouldn't need to use pins or needles unless she was sewing by hoof, but she used them to hook two pieces of cloth together for the sole purpose of keeping the cloth together so she could make a perfect seam.

"Oh, this is so frustrating…" Rarity scowled to herself in a muffled voice, slowly moving the magenta fabric through the path of the sewing machine's needle slowly so she wouldn't have to redo anything and ruin what would be a perfectly good dress. If she screwed up one more time she swore she was going to scream! This material was very expensive like most of the fabrics she used and she could not afford to mess up again. "Just concentrate Rarity, concentrate. This dress will look just lovely."

The fabric was a luxurious silk that would serve as the inside of the dress and unlike some of her other dresses, make it more comfortable than the others she put just as much sweat and work into. Rarity pushed her orange glasses up her snout, the eyewear constantly slipping down her face. Finally she used her magic to lift both the glasses and a rag that dabbed the sweat off her face and the glasses, then set them back in front of her eyes. That was much better.

Rarity's pushing of the fabric through the sewing needle gradually slowed down; the more she thought about the Grand Galloping Gala the slower her hooves moved. As you would guess she was still upset about the whole event, but she was really taking it better than others. Pinkie Pie was doing the best, so you could say she and Twilight were about equal.

The white unicorn looked down at her current handiwork, but couldn't find any solace in it. Try as she may, Rarity couldn't stop wondering if she wasted her time; wasted it by watching Princess Celestia's nephew from her place in the shadows of the lower-class ponies.

Rarity took the red fabric ball out of her mouth and set it next to the chart of recorded dress sizes. It was so obvious, but how could she have not seen it? It was right in front of her face like a big red sign with flashing neon lights and speakers that practically yelled it out at the max. Prince Blueblood was royalty; how could she think he would fall for a commoner like her. But it's not like it was her fault; the jerk obviously had a bigger ego than her. He wouldn't eat the treats Applejack was selling; he spat them out like they were a pile of manure; which was what he deserved. And when her dress, the dress she spent so much time working on, so much time meticulously keeping it in spotless condition, got coated in food scraps, he just acted like she had a horrible disease. The nerve! How could somepony do that!

"I should've seen it coming…I'm such an idiot!" For most of her young adult life Rarity saw herself as a pony of the upper-class. Like most of high class she had a bit of an ego that sometimes got to her head, but she never looked down on people, saw them as inferior to her, or anything really below her; this was a shot to her ego, shot down and left for dead like a wild animal.

"Come on Rarity, don't get yourself worked up." The young unicorn clenched the fabric, throwing off the path of the sewing machine's needle. For the first time in a long time since the fashion show that almost made her the laughing stock of Ponyville, she could feel tears starting to come up to the corners of her eyes Were her dreams of marrying a handsome stallion like him in truth, vain? "How could you have known…?"

The simple answer was she couldn't. All she got in the end was a ruined dress and a broken heart. Rarity pursed her lips together, trying to hold the tears back. Before any could escape down her cheeks she set her glasses next to the needle ball. The dressmaker's hooves tightened around the soft fabric and she gave it a soft tug. Her eyes clenched shut, teeth gritted together like a press; one hoof came over her left eye in a fruitless attempt to stop herself from crying. She felt like such a fool at the Gala, the horribly failed event that was quite possibly the worst night of her life, and the lives of her friends. Nothing could possibly make up for that.

For a brief minute after she wiped her wet cheeks, sniffling back her tears, she felt a warm breeze come over her purple hair. She was so deep in thought forgot she left the window next to her work table wide open, letting the warm outside air in. Rarity wasn't a forgetful pony; the past week had been so eventful. The unicorn sighed and left her work station, gazing out the open arch window. A few ponies were out and about on the Ponyville streets, going about their own business. It had been a few days since she stepped outside; the whole time she was in the studio, working on her dress to forget about the Gala. Rarity breathed in the warm air and sighed. She missed her friends, but she had to get this dress finished; she didn't like leaving a job undone.

She took hold of the window with her magic, but before she closed it a scooter and wagon rolled in through the dirt streets. She could tell it was her sister and her friends from a mile away.

"Sweetie Belle! Hello sis!" Rarity called out excitedly, happy to see her again. She didn't leave that long ago, but for Rarity it was much better than talking to herself the whole time. A smile spread across the unicorn's face when she saw the younger filly wave her hoof back. She saw her! They weren't too far apart to begin with but Rarity still got excited, her lovely and clean spiral tail flicking about. She had to admit seeing Sweetie Belle did make her feel much better. You wouldn't believe how grateful she was she had her little sister, otherwise it would just be her and Opal, and everypony knows you can't get a response from a cat.

"Oh girls…I hope you're all doing okay…" Rarity said out to the open Ponyville air before her magic closed the double-paneled window with a soft click. She hoped that her friends were doing okay; they all knew Fluttershy was still upset. She returned to her workstation, fixing up the mistake she made the best she could before running the in-progress dress through the needle. Anything to forget the Gala…

(Scene break)

Looking back behind her until the older white unicorn closed the window, Sweetie Belle smiled to herself as they zoomed along through Ponyville towards the park where they could reach Rainbow Dash's usual hangout in the clouds. Scootaloo flapped along, her wings spreading with each pump that propelled them forward.

"Scoot, why do you want to see Rainbow Dash again?" Sweetie Belle raised her voice over the roaring of the passing wind. "She already told us her cutie mark story."

"This isn't about our cutie marks." Scootaloo responded, making a sharp turn down the path as they exited Ponyville, the wheels clacking on the cobblestone path as they went up over the pink bridge. "I want to see Dash's killer flight moves. Maybe she can teach me a thing or two."

"But ya can't even fly very well sugar-cube…" Apple Bloom pointed out. The wings of a Pegasus pony Scootaloo's age were still in the process of developing all the way so she could only fly a few feet off the ground a short time before having to take a rest; much like Spike's wings, but his weren't as close as Scootaloo's. The lavender dragon still had a while to go until he could fly like his larger brethren.

Scootaloo narrowed her grayish purple eyes and scowled to herself, pursing her lips and breathing hard. "Don't remind me…" she gripped the handle bars of the scooter and zoomed off faster. The two in back had to hold on to the sides of the wagon to keep from flying out. "Someday I'll be as good as Rainbow Dash. I know it!"

"I'm s-u-u-ure ya will Scootaloo but could y-a-a please slo-o-w down a t-a-a-ad!" Apple Bloom's voice was shaky as the wheels rolled over the rocks in the path. Scootaloo craned her head over the handlebars and stuck her tongue out, squinting in the air hitting her face. The young Pegasus pony spread her wings open like a magnificent angel to create a slight drag, then thrust them back against the air to drive her forward.

Everypony knew Rainbow dash was Scootaloo's idol, her role model. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had their older sisters to look up to, but Scootaloo didn't. Rainbow Dash was like her in many ways, their tomboyishnes being one of them. To Scootaloo Dash was like an older sister, somepony that she could look up to and knew she could turn to if she ever needed anything; her parents weren't around all the time, so they weren't really the best ponies to turn to. Rainbow Dash was all she needed.

"Rainbow Dash here we come!" Scootaloo said to herself with her small tongue poking out the corner of her muzzle. She loved to feel the wind in her face; it was the best feeling in the whole world, plowing through the atmosphere with just your wings directing you, guiding you through the clear blue sky... Scootaloo dreamed of this every night.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at each other. Scootaloo was going faster, and they were about to zoom past where Rainbow Dash typically rested.

"Scootaloo, we're going right past her!" Sweetie Belle looked up at the sky, barely seeing the blue rainbow-maned filly resting on a small low-floating cloud. It usually took Scootaloo a lot to NOT see her idol laying on a cloud in plain view. The amber filly was too busy in her mind; there she was, now a Pegasus pony Rainbow Dash's age, rocketing through the great blue at the speed of light. Challenging Rainbow Dash herself to a race, a contest to determine which of them was the fastest. She told herself before that she would never be as great as the only Pegasus pony to pull off the Sonic Rainboom, but the prospect that she could match her skills up with Dash made her happier than anything. These thoughts had her completely distracted; she had the scenery in front of her changed into a sky filled with clouds, not caring if she plowed through any of them. She just wanted to live, live the most exciting life possible.

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle nearly fell out of the wagon when she grabbed her shoulders and shook her. That was enough to draw Scootaloo back into reality. "Scootaloo!"

"W-What? Huh?" the amber pony didn't know what was going on until she realized she went right past Rainbow Dash and were almost out of the part now! "Oh shoot!"

Scootaloo tried to turn the scooter around with a leftward flap of her wings, but the results were not what she expected. The scooter turned, but the wagon did a tip on its wheels and brought the scooter and the girls down with it. All three fillies gave surprised and slightly panicked cries as they ended up on the ground in a less-than-pleasant landing, dirt clouds flying in their face.

"Scootaloo, what…" Apple Bloom coughed, her head a bit rattled by the sudden scrambling of their means of transportation. "…what were ya'll doin'?"

Scootaloo took her helmet off and shook her forehead, her cranium aching from having hit the ground. She opened one eye to look at her two understandably confused friends. She laughed slightly to make up for the awkwardness of the past few minutes, a blush coming over her cheeks. Scootaloo never blushed so this was a new thing.

"H-hehe, s-sorry guys…" she said with her front hooves resting on the dirt path. "I g-got a bit distracted back there…"

Apple Bloom sighed and helped them both up, brushing the dirt out of her coat. "Ya know you almost missed Rainbow Dash. We were on our way to the Everfree Forest for hay's sake!"

Scootaloo could only nod, still embarrassed by the whole thing. She helped them get the fallen wagon and scooter back up right, hooked her helmet back on, and climbed back into the driver's spot. Once Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were in the wagon she started it back up and this time carefully turned around, then went down the path towards Rainbow Dash's cloud. Scootaloo drove with less enthusiasm, her shoulders scrunched together and her wings flapping with anything but grace. Scootaloo was considered the leader of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, so how un-leader-like of her to just lose focus. She was the tough one of the group darn it, it was embarrassing when she made a fool of herself.

Maybe she was just overreacting.

They came closer to the low-hanging cloud which definitely had a resting Rainbow Dash laying on her back with her forelegs tucked behind her head. Scootaloo let go of the handlebars and fanned out her wings, slowing the scooter down until it came to a gentle stop. Scootaloo looked up at the cloud with a wide smile.

"Rainbow Dash!" she called out, loud enough to catch her attention. "Rainbow Dash!"

The blue pony was asleep when the little filly called her name. She gradually woke up to the intense light of the descending sun practically burning her retinas. Rainbow Dash groaned and put her foreleg over her eyes, sitting up and looking around even though she couldn't see anything. Her nap had produced a rather wonderful dream of her flying alongside the Wonderbolts, a member of the group , performing for hundreds upon thousands of screaming, adoring fans who wanted to see more of their amazing aerial moves. Now that she was awake, she was justifiably disenchanted that it was only a dream. Rainbow Dash groaned and sat forward, slowly pulling her foreleg from her face to help her eyes get used to the sunlight.

"Rainbow Dash!"

She now noticed that somepony was calling her name; she recognized the tone of voice anywhere.

"Scootaloo?" Rainbow Dash called back, looking around her for the filly.

"We're down here!" Scootaloo said. Giggles came from the two other fillies.

Rainbow Dash peeked over the edge of the cloud, looking down at the girls who seemed to be waiting for her anxiously; at least Scootaloo was by the excited look on her face.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash jumped down from the cloud, slowing her descent with her wings and making a gentle landing on the dirt. "What's up girls?"

"Rainbow Dash, could you do something for us?" Scootaloo looked at Rainbow Dash adoringly, like she was the greatest Pegasus pony who ever lived. To Scootaloo, she was just that and more.

Rainbow Dash was still a bit drowsy. She didn't get much sleep the night before. Half the night was spent tossing and turning in her bed before she finally left her house in the sky and found a nice fluffy cloud that was able to put her to sleep. The bright yellow sun made it harder with its sharp piercing of her eyes, a pain that felt like a knife spreading through her head. A groan came out of the filly before she had a chance to respond to Scootaloo's request. Darn she was more tired than she thought, and that was only a few seconds ago.

"S-Sure, what is it…?" Rainbow Dash couldn't get her mind off that dream. Every now and then she had that same exact dream; at least once every week. That would in turn lead to the question, was she good enough to someday become a member of the Wonderbolts like she always dreamed since before she was in Junior Flight School? Was good enough to even meet them? The night at the Gala certainly wasn't the best night in Equestria to try to get their attention; there were plenty of distractions. She knew she should understand that, but she still felt very upset she never got even one chance to talk to them, even though they were right in front of her, her childhood heroes. She was almost convinced she would never get another chance to meet them.

"Dash, you okay?"

Rainbow Dash almost forgot the girls were right in front of her. She blinked a few times as her eyes finally adjusted to the daylight.

"Y-Yep, I'm just fine…" she said with a smile. "I'm a little tired, that's all. So, what do ya need of me?"

"Scootaloo, I think we should let her get back to sleep." Sweetie Belle suggested, knowing that Scootaloo would shoot her down anyway.

"No!" Scootaloo suddenly said, looking back at the white unicorn filly. "Nothing can stop the Great Rainbow Dash!" she looked ahead at the said Pegasus pony and smiled. "Right?"

Rainbow Dash only smiled. She understood what Sweetie Belle was saying; Rainbow Dash was still tired, and therefore would be unable to successfully perform the moves that Scootaloo desired to see, and as much as she wanted to reschedule for another time when she would be more alert and energized, the smile and look of pure admiration on Scootaloo's young face – not to mention the compliment of her being the "Great Rainbow Dash" – made her unable to say no.

"Right…" Rainbow Dash managed to not choke out, shaking her head to wake herself up. Spreading out her wings Dash flapped and lifted up, hovering over the ground. "Okay Scootaloo, what do ya want to see?"

"Anything!" she beamed. "Show us your best moves!"

"My best moves? That'll be a snap! I'm on it!" Rainbow Dash lifted higher past the cloud until she was a good distance above Ponyville where she wouldn't cause any damage but the girls could still see her. Down below the ponies were much smaller but she could still see the bright smile on Scootaloo's face. Simply flapping her wings gave her more energy and woke her up, but she still wanted to go back to sleep on the cloud below her.

Bracing herself Rainbow Dash spread her wings far apart, scrunched her body together, and with a single push propelled herself forward. The scene quickly zoomed by as the Pegasus pony shot through the air, Ponyville going by beneath her. The fillies would have a hard time seeing her with the rapidly increasing distance between them, but that was all part of her plan. If little Scootaloo wanted to see some totally impressive moves, oh she would get them alright. There were a few moves up Rainbow Dash's sleeve she wanted to show off, and now was the perfect chance.

Right before she reached the edge of Ponyville and would go into the Sweet Apple Acres area Rainbow Dash pointed her left wing down and flapped madly with her right one, shifting her body about so she would make a long left u-turn, then went off in the direction she just came. This was it, the big moment she could show off the moves she spent months planning out in her bedroom, the moves she wanted to show to the Wonderbolts to show them she was good enough to become a member.

"Go Rainbow Dash go!" Scootaloo called out as she zoomed by at incredible speeds, smiling with great amounts of excitement flooding her young body. She felt all the adrenaline building in Rainbow Dash, like they were transferring over to her via a psychic connection of sorts. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle weren't as pumped as their friend only because they weren't Pegasus ponies, but this was still nice to watch.

Tongue sliding out the side of her mouth, wings beating the air, Rainbow Dash made her first planned tactic. A single downward push of her wings sent her higher in the air and with an arch of her back, the Pegasus pony did a smooth mid-air back flip with her forelegs out and hind legs pressed tightly together to increase how aerodynamic she would be. Rainbow Dash shut her eyes, just picturing the Wonderbolts among the little audience watching her, mesmerized by her skills and feats of flight. She looped down, then repeated the maneuvers in a series of loops and turns like a fish through the crystal clear waters of the ocean, an angel flying gracefully through the heavens. While not her most impressive move she was just getting started. She looped around a few more times then preformed a number of zigzags, u-turns, and dives over the heads of the watching fillies.

"Come on Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo called to her. "Do more!"

Rainbow Dash smiled to herself. More? You got it Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash turned around and flew out a long way out until she was out over the large green canopies of the Everfree Forest, almost over the deepest areas of the wood. The distance would give her plenty of time to pull off a successful aileron roll. And if she was lucky she would even be able to do another Sonic Rainboom! Imagine how awesome a spinning Sonic Rainboom would be! She was shaking with excitement, she wished the Wonderbolts were here right now!

"Here we go…" Rainbow Dash prepped herself, spreading her wings out and flapping a few times, stretching the muscles and tendons beneath the feathers. "Sonic Rainboom here I come!" The chances of her lucratively producing another Sonic Rainboom were relatively slim like they were the first two times, but that didn't mean it wasn't worth a try. She flapped backwards to give herself a little more space, Ponyville further away than ever.

Rainbow Dash gave a single hard flap of her wings and shot forward. Her forelegs directed in front of her like a superhero, hind legs kept together, she left a faint rainbow streak in her wake. The vibrant colors spread across the sky, just like a rainbow after storm lighting up the gloomy afternoon sky. The filly was determined to pull off the spectacular move again and show how skilled she really was. She was good enough for the Wonderbolts! She was certain of it!

Wind beating down on her face, Rainbow Dash squinted as moisture gathered in the corners of her eyes. She blinked to dispel them. Her wings flapped frantically to build up her speed, faster, faster, gradually getting even faster by the second. As she neared the Ponyville-side of the forest edge, the sounds of cheering faintly discernable, she pointed her wings back diagonally like an arrow to increase her speed, then shifted her weight to the right. The result, followed by a constant shifting of her weight and repositioning of her wings made her spin through the air like a drill. Behind her, the once-straight line of rainbow became a magnificent, expanding spiral filling the sky. The girls below were in awe, but mainly Scootaloo, whose mouth was hanging open.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes as a wave of happiness and satisfaction washed over her blue body. The praise she knew she was getting made her feel a bit better; of all the things that Dash feared it was failure. Failing what she wanted to accomplish in her life; that of course included the Wonderbolts. But the fact that Scootaloo idolized her the way she did the world-famous flyers meant she wasn't a complete and total failure.

A sharp smell hit her nose. Rainbow Dash cringed. It smelled like smoke, sharp and stinging the sensitive lining of her nostrils. She was still spinning when she put her hooves over her nose, blocking out most of the smell. What was that, that smell? Rainbow Dash opened her eyes but she couldn't tell exactly what was in front of her with the spinning of the landscape. The one thing that didn't match up with the blue sky, but almost blended in with it was a pluming cloud of blue flame and smoke that came in towards her – she was actually flying towards it and like an arrow and a target she smashed through.

An intense heat overtook her face, virtually scorching her like she went through a bonfire. Rainbow Dash cried out in pain – but mainly surprise – as the heat stung and burned her eyes. She had absolutely no idea what was going on; she could hear few ponies yelling up to her but what they were saying was beyond her right now.

"What the heck?" Dash yelled as her aerial maneuver went completely off course. She spun around but not in the way she expected she would, doing a full summersault until she started to lose altitude, spiraling out of control. To add to this sudden confusing event her something appeared in her mouth. Rainbow Dash let out a muffled cry over the hot rolled up scroll tied up in a neat red bow.

The sky dropped down from her sight so the Ponyville buildings were all she could see, what looked like Rarity's tall decorated shop in particular. She closed her eyes and scrunched her body up, bracing for impact while her wings flapped clumsily to recover.

(Scene Break)

Rarity looked at the part of the dress she finished sewing up, cutting the string connected to the machine's needle. For the most part she'd been able to calm down, relax over the whole Gala ordeal. There were more important things to think about and show concern over. Rarity sighed and looked over her dress, loving the work she put into it so far. The silky fabric shined magnificently in the studio light and with how soft it was under her hoof, she knew it would feel great when she or any other lucky pony wore it.

"Marvelous." Rarity said with a smiled and smoothed out the material. She inspected the dress, and came across a loose flap of cloth. The white unicorn shook her head and clicked her tongue. "Oh now that just won't do! I've got to take care of that."

With no more extras of the correct material she needed, Rarity went over to the over side of the room and dug through her cabinets looking for what she needed. Sometimes she would be so consumed with sewing that she would occasionally forget to rearrange her supplies in the proper order; Rarity could be a bit scatterbrained.

Rarity would turn around, holding the small container of finely woven silk yarn in the air, and see the scroll laying in the middle of the work desk, right on her finished product. The white unicorn blinked and pushed her orange glasses up in front of her eyes, blinking again.

"Hello?" she called out to the otherwise empty room. Somepony had to have left that there, but who, or even what? "Hello?"

Rarity set the container next to the sewing machine. Her horn's magic transferred over to the letter and carefully undid the pretty red ribbon, setting it aside for later use on one of the hats she was in the process of designing.

"Now let's see what we have here." The white unicorn unrolled the scroll and smiled at the very formal handwriting printed down on the parchment.

'_Dear Rarity. I'm having a slumber party tonight, and I would just love it if you came! All the girls will be there. We're going to have so much fun just like last time, but better! We're going to have so much fun! Party starts at six, I hope you come!_

_Signed, Twilight Sparkle _

_XOXO_'

Rarity's eyes went wide when she saw the set of hugs and kisses. Understandably she blushed, but she knew better; Twilight didn't send this letter. Obviously Spike did. Rarity huffed and shook her head, but then she giggled.

"Spike, you silly little dragon you…" Rarity smiled. "So Twilight's having another slumber party? As if the last one wasn't bad enough." She laughed a bit, clearly joking around. Rarity honestly enjoyed the sleepover even if she had a difficult time tolerating Applejack at first. In the end they had lots of fun and it ended up being one of the best times she ever had with Twilight, or even Applejack for that matter.

"Twilight you marvelous pony," Rarity set the letter down and smoothed it out. Despite how filthy the paper looked it didn't leave any filth marks on her dress which she was thankful for. "I need to finish my dress but it can wait. This will be absolutely-"

A crash, the loud noise of glass shattering, and out of the corner of Rarity's eye a blue and rainbow streak flew by. She jumped, crying out in surprise as shards glass flew in every direction across the room. Rarity's attention wasn't focused in the direction behind her so she didn't know what just happened but all she knew was there were shards of glass all over the floor, the window next to the one she just closed completely broken except for a few jagged fragments still attached to the pane.

"What in the world?" she gasped, looking around the room. "*gasp* Rainbow Dash!"

In front of a huge dent in the wall the rainbow Pegasus pony lay sprawled out, not moving. Rarity galloped over to her.

"Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!" Rarity shook the Pegasus pony, turning her over on her side. Little red cuts covered her coat everywhere, a bigger gash along her shoulder. "Oh my Celestia! Rainbow Dash what happened?"

A small pained groan from the Pegasus, then she moved around on the glass buried into the fabric of the carpet. She looked like she just got out of a big fight with an angry and very annoyed cat. Rarity lifted her hoof and gasped when she saw a little bit of red on her hoof. She made a soft 'ew', unsure of where to wipe it off. She resorted to wiping it on Dash's tail. "Rainbow Dash get up!"

One minute she was flying through the air, and the next she was laying here on Rarity's floor. Her whole body hurt, her head in particular from the impact she had with the now-cracked wall. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, her vision blurry, the room spinning in front of her in a pink and purple mess.

"Holy…what just happened?" Rainbow Dash groaned, rubbing her throbbing cranium. She tried to move, but pain attacked her and she winced. It took her a few seconds to notice the white unicorn right next to her. "Rarity, what are you doing here?"

Rarity arched her eyebrows at this. "Rainbow Dash darling, you're in my studio! You crashed through my window!"

The Pegasus pony looked around, obviously disoriented by her hurtle through the window. It was pretty ironic but mostly funny; if any of the Pegasus ponies from Junior Flight School had seen that they would be calling her Rainbow Crash right about now. Thank Celestia they weren't…

"Darling are you okay?" Rarity asked as she helped the fallen Rainbow Dash to her hooves. "You took a pretty nasty fall there."

"A-Are you kidding?" Rainbow Dash said with the sudden appearance of the confidence she usually had in her tone of voice. "I'm fine! Never been better!….Ow…"

Rarity sighed and helped Rainbow Dash away from the broken glass all over the floor. The studio floor was a complete mess; it would take forever to get this cleaned up, but Rarity tried to not concern herself with that right now.

"Rainbow Dash you're hurt." Rarity pointed out, which was clearly obvious, but it seemed like Rainbow Dash didn't want to admit it. It was part of her fear of failure; most would see that as a sign of failure. "You need to go to see Nurse Redheart."

"Rarity I'm fine! It's not that bad!" she dismissed it all by waving her hoof.

The unicorn pulled her in front of the mirror, and Rainbow Dash could see just how scratched up she was. She winced, the scratches all over her body suddenly hurting more than they felt at first.

"Okay fine, it's bad…" Dash admitted, biting her lip. "Man that hurt."

"What were you doing Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked, looking at her in the mirror. "You didn't fly through a cloud again did you?"

"No…I can't remember…" The blue Pegasus suddenly couldn't remember what exactly made her crash; it was just one big blur after she hit the wall. "Bleh…my head hurts."

Suddenly Rarity had a rolled up scroll with a red bow around it; the one that made her crash.

"I think you dropped this darling." Rarity's words muffled, she raised it up and undid the ribbon, then unrolled it.

"Dear Rainbow Dash having a slumber party tonight, and I would just love it if you…Rainbow Dash this is the same letter I just received!"

Rainbow Dash brushed shards of glass from her mane. "What now? You got one of those too?"

"Yes I did!" The unicorn smiled.

"So what is it anyway?"

"Twilight is having a slumber party!"

Rainbow Dash looked at her. "A slumber party?" Dash wasn't the most feminine pony in the world so one would expect her to think more than once about attending something that usually involved 'feminine bonding' "I-I don't know…"

"You don't want to be rude by not going!" Rarity said with a slightly dramatic voice. "When Twilight held her first slumber party she was so happy and excited to have Applejack and I with her…" she sighed. "If she's inviting everypony, you need to go Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash sighed too, rubbing her hoof on the carpet. "Well I've never really been to one before…"

"There's really nothing to it Rainbow Dash, once everything is absolutely perfect nothing can go wrong. We'll have smores, tell ghost stories, give each other makeovers…"

The Pegasus looked up with wide eyes at the sound of "makeovers".

(Scene Break)

Spike's current mission was to make a timetable of all the activities Twilight and the girls would do at the slumber party; he didn't mind doing it, he would do anything for Twilight, but progress was slow; next to the slip of paper was a second one, which Spike used to doodle down an adult dragon guarding a horde of jewels. He licked his lips. He was so hungry for gem stones that even the ones drawn on the scroll were starting to look tempting…

"Hey Twi, do you want ghost stories before or after the smores, or do you want it during or after the makeovers?"

After he spoke the library was silent. Spike looked up from the podium at the filly sitting at the table, her face buried in that old book. It wasn't an exaggeration that when Twilight found a book she was really interested in, she couldn't stop reading it. Nothing could take her attention away from it.

"Did you hear me Twilight?" Spike spoke up again, his quill creating an ink blot where the sharp tip was pressed on the document. She didn't turn around. She flipped through the next few pages in her book but other than that she made no response to the baby dragon. "Twilight?"

Twilight was too consumed by the book's knowledge. This old tome that had been hidden in the library's basement for this long…it was simply astonishing to her. How could something this old and up her alley slip from her detection just like this? She wished she found this sooner, because each page was better than the last!

Though it may sound a little odd she got this excited over a book of spells, if you were a bookworm like Twilight or had incredible interest in improving your magic, you would be just as excited as her.

One of the more interesting things about the book were the illustrations. They all had a very vague cartoony appearance about them but a few were rather confusing to look at, some were smudged, and others she couldn't tell what the heck she was looking at. Others were pretty graphic, such as the page on 'Piranha Beetle Repel'. That page wouldn't have been so bad if the spell wasn't designed to work after the beetles already started to devour you. Twilight cringed, remembering when she saw her first picture of one of those little monsters in a book on exotic creatures. Piranha beetles were carnivorous insects that looked like a cross between an insect and a fish. Only about a few centimeters long, one beetle was nothing but in a swarm…you don't even want to know. They were only found deep in the southeastern jungles but they could instill fear in Twilight Sparkle wherever she was. She flipped to the next page to get it off her mind.

"Twilight!" Spike called again, but still wasn't able to elicit a response from her. Spike didn't really like it when Twilight did this because it made him (mostly him, but everypony else too) feel second best after her books.

That of course wasn't true, Twilight loved Spike to death, but books were very important to her and she could get lost in them as a result. She couldn't help it, she didn't do it on purpose, it was just something that happened. Her deep immersion in the book was partly due to her looking for something that could help Fluttershy. She wasn't sure how the Pegasus pony was holding up at this time; there was the possibly she could have gotten over what happened, but somehow she didn't think so. Fluttershy is a very sensitive and emotional pony; that incident at the Gala could have a deep impact on anypony, and it sure did on most.

The book still had a lot of pages to go but so far she hadn't found a page on anything that looked like it could cure anypony of depression; anypony bigger than a Parasprite at least. But if this book had a spell on curing somepony who had a nasty temper, then this had to have something that cured depression.

"Twilight!" Spike called louder, leaning forward on the podium. But still she didn't hear him. The dragon grunted, clearly frustrated, and grabbed a piece of paper from the stack beside the podium. His scaly paws crinkled it into a tight ball and he chucked it at the purple unicorn, hitting her square on the back of the head.

"Ah!" Twilight cried out in surprise, whipping her head around to look at Spike, rubbing the area he hit. "Spike what was that for?"

"Twilight you were ignoring me!"

"I was not!" She defended. "I'm sorry but I didn't hear you." Twilight stopped, then took a slow and deep breath. "What do you need Spike?"

"I asked if you wanted the ghost stories before or after the smores, or if you wanted the smores during or after the makeovers?"

Twilight paid attention to what he said this time and thought it over. "Put the ghost stories before the makeovers, and the smores after that."

Spike nodded and jotted it down. "That book must be pretty interesting."

Twilight smiled and nodded. "It really is Spike; this is one of the most fascinating books I've ever read. But I can't find anything that could even help cheer up Fluttershy…"

Spike went back to adding detail to his drawing, his scaly lips moistening as he sketched down more gems behind his dragon. The last time he found jewels he almost met his end by a larger adult dragon; the only safe way was to ask Rarity for some of her gems.

Twilight read over page after page of spells. Page after page, and still no luck. The average pony would've given up by now, but she wasn't the average pony. If Fluttershy still needed help she was more than willing to spend all the time she had from now to the slumber party finding one. Twilight sighed heavily and rested her head on her hoof, skimming over each spell and their descriptions. Things weren't looking too good…

Then she found something that made her ears perk up. The page had a slight fold on the corner, meaning whoever read the book last tried to dog-ear it but the fold was so small it was amazing Twilight even found it.

The title of the page simply read "The Filly's Pleasure".

Twilight blinked at the illustration given beneath the title. It simply showed a filly in a rather odd but fancy-looking dress, possibly matching the time period the book was written in, lying on her back. The most notable feature about her was the satisfied, almost pleasured look on her face. Twilight didn't make anything of it because, well, she was in a dress and there wasn't anything provocative about the image. The drawings weren't all that detailed to begin with.

"'The Filly's Pleasure?'" Twilight murmured to herself so Spike wouldn't hear. Twilight skimmed down to the description of the spell. The only problem she faced was a few words were smudged or gone altogether.

"_A Charming spell, the Filly's Pleasure only aff cts females of the po y race. ot recommended for no ices._" Twilight could fill in the missing letters. "_R k shou be taken when performing is spell due to the power ul effects, but expert spell-cas ers will find this a us ful tool. The Fil y's Pleasure can cure the w rst depression, bring blis ful euphoria, and stimulate every inch the nerves and nses. Fillies experience intense se…..by the doing of this spell. M….actitioners only. _"

Needless to say Twilight was already piqued by this spell. This was exactly what Fluttershy needed, although the huge smudge of ink between the 'se' and 'by', as well as the other one after the 'M' made her confused and disappointed. But surely that didn't matter! This could cure Fluttershy of her depression.

"I think I found it Spike!" Twilight said excitedly. "I found it!"

"Huh?" Spike looked up, drool forming on the corner of his mouth. "Found what?"

"The spell I've been looking for!" Twi took the cloth ribbon attached to the binding of the book and slid in down the page, closing it to mark her place. "I'm going to see if Fluttershy's doing better."

Twilight smiled with pure delight. The answer was finally discovered, and if her sleepover couldn't make her feel better, then this would. But first she had to verify if she was doing any better. If not she needed Twilight's intervention.

"I'll be back soon!" Twilight headed out through the front door, leaving Spike alone in the quiet library.

The list was finished so there was nothing else to do but…well draw. Spike spent most of his attention to detail on the gemstones after a while, drawing ever line to give the gem its correct shape on the two-dimensional plane.

"Man what I would give for a nice juicy diamond right now…" Spike sighed, suddenly thinking about the ones on Rarity's flank.

* * *

><p>Some days I couldn't get this chapter done, and I hope I didn't rush the part with Rarity and Rainbow Dash X( Sorry about the length, I wanted this chapter to be just right! I hope you enjoyed anyway!<p>

R&R!


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